Why a 15-lakh vote edge over BJP couldn’t help Tejashwi’s RJD win Bihar elections
RJD’s sizeable vote lead failed to translate into seats as its support remained thinly spread, while the NDA converted concentrated backing into a decisive victory
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which headed the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) alongside the Congress in Bihar, delivered a dismal performance in the state Assembly elections, managing to win only 25 of the 143 seats it contested under the seat-sharing arrangement.
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Yet, despite the disappointing seat tally, the party found a small consolation: it recorded the highest vote share among all parties in this election, the counting for which was held on Friday (November 14).
Big numbers, small gains
RJD secured 23 per cent of the total votes, marking a slight decline from the 23.11 per cent it received in the previous polls, when it had fielded 144 candidates.
The BJP, meanwhile, saw its vote share climb to 20.07 per cent from 19.46 per cent in 2020, even though it contested only 101 seats this time compared with 110 in the last election, as per Election Commission of India (ECI) figures.
Vote share represents the proportion of total votes a party or candidate garners relative to all votes cast, offering insight into its support or popularity among voters. For the RJD, leading the vote share indicates it may have finished second or third in several constituencies, accumulating substantial votes without converting them into seats. These votes boost the party’s overall share but do not translate into victories.
Alliance dips as NDA dominates
It also reflects the advantage of contesting more seats than the BJP or the JD(U), both of which were in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and fought 101 seats each. With 42 more constituencies in the fray, the RJD had a larger base from which to draw votes, since even losing candidates contribute to the vote share. Overall, the RJD received 1,15,46,055 votes, while the BJP secured 1,00,81,143.
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The Mahagathbandhan partners also fared poorly: the Congress won only six of the 61 seats it contested, the CPI(ML)L managed two, the CPI(M) bagged one, and the CPI failed to win any, keeping the alliance’s total at 35 seats.
The NDA, on the other hand, won 202 seats. The BJP accounted for 89 of them, followed by the JDU with 85. Union minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) won 19 seats, while Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) secured five and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha picked up four.